


Give and Take

by irishavalon



Category: Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Detroit Evolution, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Detroit Evolution, reed900
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23693713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irishavalon/pseuds/irishavalon
Summary: “I have been wondering, though.” Nines begins when they break away. Gavin reopens his eyes to look at him. “How did you get to me so fast? I thought you were still at the bar.”Oh, they are so not having this fucking conversation. The reluctance must show on Gavin’s face (or maybe the fucker can read minds), though, because Nines smiles and adds, “Tell you what. If you answer my question honestly, you can ask me any question you want. Give and take. Deal?”-----Gavin wakes up from a new nightmare, and he and Nines have a much-needed heart to heart.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 27
Kudos: 610





	Give and Take

**Author's Note:**

> I've watched Detroit Evolution four times so far and there were some things I really needed Gavin and Nines to tell each other. So I wrote this. Enjoy!

The next time he has a nightmare, it’s not the usual dream. He’s not wandering the streets of Detroit, he’s not dying in a ditch, he’s not even the one who’s hurt.

_“Gavin? Gavin, wake up!”_

Gavin opens his eyes with a gasp. He gazes around with wide eyes, panting heavily. Nines is speaking softly to him, he’s sitting beside Gavin on the bed, and Gavin feels the android’s fingertips grazing the back of his hand. He drinks Nines in as the panic slowly subsides.

“You’re all right. It was just a dream. It’s okay.”

Gavin stares at him for a long moment before pushing himself over so he’s leaning against Nines’s shoulder, facing away from the android. Nines wraps his arm around Gavin, across his chest, his fingers rubbing circles against Gavin’s upper arm. Gavin reaches one hand up to clutch Nines’s arm, and laces the fingers of his other hand with Nines’s. He squeezes his eyes shut against the stinging of tears and tries to breathe.

Part of him wants to push Nines away; after only a week of waking up to Nines beside him, he’s not used to this intimacy. But then he remembers the nightmare and can’t help clinging to Nines tighter.

He feels Nines lean his head down so it’s even with Gavin’s. He presses a soft kiss to the side of Gavin’s neck.

“Was it the same as last time?” Nines asks quietly.

Gavin thinks about lying; he’s not used to any of this, this closeness, this honesty. But he can’t, he’s so tired. He shakes his head.

“No, this was… this was different.” His voice is gruff with sleep, and he must have been grunting in his sleep again if Nines could tell he was having a nightmare in order to wake him up.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Nines murmurs.

He could say no. He could move away and lie back down and pretend to go back to sleep. Then Nines wouldn’t be able to see the tears in his eyes. But he probably already knows about them, has probably already scanned Gavin. He certainly does it often enough. Gavin makes a mental note to ask him someday why Nines scans him so fucking much; he doesn’t do it nearly as often to Tina or Chris or anyone else at the precinct that Gavin knows of.

Instead of pulling out of Nines’s arms and rolling over, Gavin opens his eyes and turns in Nines’s grip. He searches Nines’s face, his beautiful, “ken-doll” face. He sees Nines take in the tears the second before they spill over, feels Nines let go of his hand to wipe them away with his thumb, skin retracted. Gavin leans into the touch for a moment, averts his gaze before he speaks again.

“I was back in that alley, where Ada… where she hurt you. But I was too late. By the time I found you, you were dead.”

“I’m here,” Nines murmurs, still stroking Gavin’s face. “I’m alive. You reached me in time.”

“I know,” Gavin says. “But she shouldn’t have gotten you alone. I shouldn’t have let you walk her home.”

“Gavin, she wasn’t a suspect. We didn’t know.”

“But I shouldn’t have shouted at you. I shouldn’t have pushed you away--”

“I agree.” Nines’s says, and when Gavin meets his eyes, he’s smirking. And then his face softens. “But you got to me in time. You saved my life, Gavin. Twice.” He leans down to rest his forehead against Gavin’s, and Gavin shuts his eyes tight. “Well, at least that night.” He presses his lips against Gavin’s, gently so Gavin can pull away if it’s too much. Gavin doesn’t pull away.

“I have been wondering, though.” Nines begins when they break away. Gavin reopens his eyes to look at him. “How did you get to me so fast? I thought you were still at the bar.”

Oh, they are _so not_ having this fucking conversation. The reluctance must show on Gavin’s face (or maybe the fucker can read minds), though, because Nines smiles and adds, “Tell you what. If you answer my question honestly, you can ask me any question you want. Give and take. Deal?”

Now that could be interesting. If Gavin could pin down a question to ask. He nods, but doesn’t make eye contact when he answers. “I followed you.” When Nines doesn’t respond, Gavin looks at him, and knows that simple answer isn’t going to be enough. The prompt is clear on Nines’s face: _Tell me why._ Gavin sighs heavily. “I didn’t suspect her. None of us did. But I think I was a little bit jealous of her, and maybe a part of me wanted to see if you had meant what you said on the stakeout. But, even though I didn’t know it was her, there was still an android killer out there, and I… I didn’t want to let you out of my sight.” He smirks at Nines, ignoring the way his cheeks heat up. “That enough of an explanation for you, tin can?”

Nines smiles serenely back, and he looks way too pleased with himself. “Yes, thank you.” He kisses Gavin’s forehead, and now Gavin’s entire face is hot ( _thanks, dick_ ). “And thank you for following me. What do you want to ask?” Nines pulls back and looks at him so intently that Gavin knows immediately what he’s going to ask.

“Why do you scan me so often? You don’t do it as much to Tina or Chris or anyone else.”

“I try not to. I know you don’t like it. But I can’t help it. I want to make sure you’re okay. I know I can’t do much about it. I can’t get you to stop smoking or tell you to go home and sleep in the middle of the work day. But I like to know, so that if I can help, I know how. And…” he trails off for a moment, looks away from Gavin before continuing. The dim light from outside the window splashes across his profile as Gavin stares at him. “And it calms me. Grounds me, I suppose. If you’re all right… everything else is, too.

“When you found me in the alley, I tried to scan you. I knew I was shutting down, and I wasn’t even sure if my call to the police would connect in time for them to find me. And then you were there, and if I could just scan you, everything would be okay. But I couldn’t. None of my systems were working. I could barely see you past the error messages, let alone scan your vitals. It was… the moment I finally thought I might not make it.”

Without taking his eyes off of Nines, Gavin reaches for the hand that’s not still around him. He feels for Nines’s pulse with his fingertips, and turns Nines’s hand so the android can feel his, too. Nines meets Gavin’s eyes as his fingers come to rest on Gavin’s wrist. Gavin can almost see the memory in Nines’s eyes as Nines moves forward, and then Gavin closes his eyes and Nines’s lips meet his. Gavin pushes forward, kissing Nines hard, and Nines kisses him back, presses back.

“My turn.” Nines murmurs when they pull away and Gavin groans.

“You have _another_ question?” he demands.

“You can’t possibly be out of questions for _me_ ,” Nines counters. He’s right, and the temptation to ask the one that comes to mind gives Gavin the motivation to relent.

“Fine, asshole, what do you want to know?” Gavin demands gruffly, to hide the anxiety of having to answer honestly.

“Did you mean what you said at Cyberlife?” Nines asks, and his face is pinched with insecurity.

The honest answer is the most vulnerable so far, but sitting in bed in the dark, with Nines’s arm around him and the pulse of Nines’s thirium pump feather-light against his fingertips, it’s easy to be honest. Gavin lets go of Nines’s hand and brings both hands up to cradle Nines’s face. He looks into Nines’s eyes and speaks as steadily as he can. “Every word.”

And the smile on Nines’s face is contagious. “You must know that by now, though,” Gavin adds.

“I know,” Nines says, and, in an echo of Gavin’s words a week ago, “I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“You’re a bastard.” Gavin says, but there’s no heat behind it. Nines laughs, and Gavin joins in.

“Last question,” Gavin says when they quiet. “No more tonight.”

“Yes, you need to go back to sleep,” Nines agrees. “What do you want to know?”

Gavin’s hands go back to Nines’s palm, stroking it, and his eyes follow the movement.

“What were you trying to tell me?”

“When?”

The ghost of the nightmare is encroaching on the edges of Gavin’s brain, but he pushes it away, focusing on the feel of Nines’s hand along his fingertips. “When I found you in the alley. I know you said ‘Ada,’ but then you said my name, and something else. What was it?”

“Oh, you know the answer to that.” Nines protests softly.

“I don’t.”

“Gavin.”

“Honestly.” Gavin insists.

“I was trying to tell you that I love you.” Nines whispers. Gavin knows, but he can’t help the soft gasp anyway. He doesn’t look up at Nines, but he can tell the android is gazing at him. “I didn’t think you were ready to hear it, but I didn’t think I had the time to wait until you were. I thought I was going to die, and there was no way I was going to leave you without you knowing. But I couldn’t get it out. I kept trying until I shut down.”

Gavin makes a sound deep in his throat, and it’s _not_ a sob, goddammit. He lets go of Nines’s hand and falls face first against Nines’s chest. Nines reaches up to cradle the back of Gavin’s neck and leans forward to bury his face deep in Gavin’s hair. He’s so close to Gavin’s scalp that Gavin can feel his smile.

“Are you ready to hear it?” Nines asks, as if he hasn’t said it at least three times this evening alone. It’s hard for Gavin to say it, and Nines knows that, but it doesn’t stop the android from saying it himself.

Gavin nods against Nines’s chest.

“I love you.” Nines whispers into his hair.

Gavin wraps his arms tightly around Nines and lifts his head carefully so he doesn’t knock against Nines’s chin (though he wouldn’t hurt the android even if he did). He kisses the pale skin of Nines’s throat.

“I love you, too.” He murmurs. Nines smiles and kisses him.

“Sleep,” Nines whispers against his lips when they part.

“Did you just scan me?”

“No. It’s three-eighteen in the morning and you’ve only slept an hour tonight so far. I _am_ capable of drawing conclusions without ‘invading your privacy,’ as you call it.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me, as we’ve just established. Now sleep.”


End file.
